Abstract

The balance between water demand and availability has reached a critical level in many areas of Europe, the result of over-abstraction and prolonged periods of low rainfall or drought. Reduced river flows, lowered lake and groundwater levels, and the drying up of wetlands are widely reported, alongside detrimental impacts on freshwater ecosystems, including fish and bird life. Where the water resource has diminished, a worsening of water quality has normally followed because there is less water to dilute pollutants. In addition, salt water increasingly intrudes into 'over-pumped' coastal aquifers throughout Europe. Climate change will almost certainly exacerbate these adverse impacts in the future, with more frequent and severe droughts expected across Europe.

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